Lets compare Apples to Oranges

Before the comments start, I know deer and crappie aint at all alike.....

With that being said, I KNOW that big deer breed big deer, its genetics.

3 years on a 12" min fish at grenada and theres more of then suckers than you can throw a stick at.

Do we throw the genetics part out the window or what. We had a lake full of Biguns that spawned more biguns, and now were overrun with littlens. It just dont make sense to me.

Plain and simple,.....Good genes breed good genes.

We are catching Inferior fish here people!

If we dont do something NOW its just gonna be another AVERAGE lake!

Sorry for the rant but im sick of it.

What do you propose to do about it bigger?

Go back to keeping the 10 inch fish of course.

That could get expensive!:D

How bout this.....10 inch min, 25 fish limit, only one of which can be over 16 inches.....Yall wanna call it a "Trophy" lake, lets treat it like one.

I think this coming August will be the 2 year anniversary of the 12 inch minimum. It takes about 3 years for a crappie to reach 10 inches. Lakes run in cycles and we may be in one of those smaller fish cycles on some of the lakes.

3 years ago we went to a 12 inch min 2 of which could be under 12, yall correct me if im wrong.

It would take years and years to lose the "big fish" genes from from the entire population. This is not a quick process.

Also, fish an deer are somewhat different because most fish grow continuously throughout their lives, but deer stop growing larger at physical maturity. So in some regards, rather than worrying about preserving "lunker genes" it is more important to maximize fish longevity. That is probably the reason for the 12" limit.

However, on the flip-side it is possible that the the 12" fish could overpopulate and consume too many resources, thus limiting growth rates and the number of "lunkers" that the lake can support. Seems like I read somewhere that lakes with good bass populations will often produce larger crappie because the bass eat more middle-size crappie, freeing up food for the bigger crapie (This last statement may not be true...not sure).

The bass seem to be on the rebound at Grenada, That may be a result of all the little crappie?

I know it takes a long tome to "ruin" a lake that size, Im just saying that I think we are moving in the wrong direction thats all.

I think Grenada did go to a 12 inch minumum with 5 fish under 12 before everyone else did....all of the lakes...big 4... went in August 2 years ago, and lowered the limit to 20.

I think it'd be easier to just rename the joint Wannabe Lake and run a fence around it. That way, I could control it to your tastes Bigger. And I could give you regular reports. Now quit you whining. Least you got to go catch a fish this weekend. pffft.

All you poachers had better not ruin my lake. I mean it now.

Wannabe...

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Originally Posted by Wannabe...

I think it'd be easier to just rename the joint Wannabe Lake and run a fence around it. That way, I could control it to your tastes Bigger. And I could give you regular reports. Now quit you whining. Least you got to go catch a fish this weekend. pffft.

All you poachers had better not ruin my lake. I mean it now.

Wannabe...

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Easy now...shouldn't you be handing out sub-prime mortgages right now instead of renaming lakes and such?

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Originally Posted by Wannabe...

I think it'd be easier to just rename the joint Wannabe Lake and run a fence around it. That way, I could control it to your tastes Bigger. And I could give you regular reports. Now quit you whining. Least you got to go catch a fish this weekend. pffft.

All you poachers had better not ruin my lake. I mean it now.

Wannabe...

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As long as were straight on this, I think its a DANDY idea. Hurry up and started on that fence.

I think your gonna be real surprised in a couple years Bigger.

Heres the deal. It takes another year for em to get to the 12 inch mark. So all the fish you threw back this year will be keepers next year. You will always have more throwbacks at a 12 inch limit than you will at 10, IMO. PLUS we have had a couple good spawns in a row (something we lacked for several years proir), thus more fish, and small fish in the lake now...

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Originally Posted by pstone

I think your gonna be real surprised in a couple years Bigger.

Heres the deal. It takes another year for em to get to the 12 inch mark. So all the fish you threw back this year will be keepers next year. You will always have more throwbacks at a 12 inch limit than you will at 10, IMO. PLUS we have had a couple good spawns in a row (something we lacked for several years proir), thus more fish, and small fish in the lake now...

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Sounds logical to meeee

I sure hope youre right.....If not Its gonna suck to have to start back bass fishing!

Hey man it can't get that bad!!!!

There was actually a serious study done and recently published about the effect on a population of Bass. Done over a 10 year period, The study suggested that the effect was that fish were being selected to become harder to catch since the bass were returned to the lake that were caught by tournament fishermen. Therefore, the population migrated to fish that were easier to catch and more suseptible to being caught. On the control lake, the opposite was true, a whole lake full of fish that were harder to catch. Applied to Crappie, the effect would seem to be similar, but different in that the fish that are caught (the more suseptible) are usually harvested, and the ones that aren't(the less suseptible) are left in the lake. Therefore, over time, the only fish left in the lake are ones that are harder and harder to catch.

Therefore, it's reasonable to assume that the reason I stink at Crappie fishing is that all you older guys have ruined my lake.

This has nothing to do with the original hypothesis, but it makes me giggle when I realize that I wasted at least 3 minutes of Bigger's life forcing him to read it.

Wannabe...

Giggle meister

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Originally Posted by Wannabe...

There was actually a serious study done and recently published about the effect on a population of Bass. Done over a 10 year period, The study suggested that the effect was that fish were being selected to become harder to catch since the bass were returned to the lake that were caught by tournament fishermen. Therefore, the population migrated to fish that were easier to catch and more suseptible to being caught. On the control lake, the opposite was true, a whole lake full of fish that were harder to catch. Applied to Crappie, the effect would seem to be similar, but different in that the fish that are caught (the more suseptible) are usually harvested, and the ones that aren't(the less suseptible) are left in the lake. Therefore, over time, the only fish left in the lake are ones that are harder and harder to catch.

Therefore, it's reasonable to assume that the reason I stink at Crappie fishing is that all you older guys have ruined my lake.

This has nothing to do with the original hypothesis, but it makes me giggle when I realize that I wasted at least 3 minutes of Bigger's life forcing him to read it.

Wannabe...

Giggle meister

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I almost mentioned that possibility...there is a similar phenomenon in rattlesnakes...in places where they are hunted heavily (Texas) some researchers think the snakes are beginning to not rattle as much (or at all).

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Originally Posted by sir jigsalot

I almost mentioned that possibility...there is a similar phenomenon in rattlesnakes...in places where they are hunted heavily (Texas) some researchers think the snakes are beginning to not rattle as much (or at all).

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Time to start hunting WB...if it will cut out all that rattle and chatter....

Awww, shoot 101, you pulled the trigger too early. That one would have been a shoe in to get you a free bait pump. LOL.

Wannabe...

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Originally Posted by Wannabe...

Awww, shoot 101, you pulled the trigger too early. That one would have been a shoe in to get you a free bait pump. LOL.

Wannabe...

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I don't want a Bait Pump...I am trying to get into BCMax's club

"Not only am I the CEO, I am also a client":eek::eek::eek:

I don't think its genetics as much as food and how the lake is maintained. Grenada has lots of gizzard shad, when the corps pulls down the lake it allows grass and the the banks to have a chance to firm up.

Water levels dropping and rising have more to do with the spawn than anything. Crappie want a firm bottom to lay their eggs.

I think this is why the Corps lakes have such large crappie.